Emily Anthony, Mary Ellen Cunningham and Julie Edsforth founded Clover Search Works based on the belief that nonprofits do some of the most important work in the world and that finding the right leaders for organizations at critical moments in their history is crucial to their success.

Clover Search Works growing, dynamic team brings together the collective strengths, insights and personal and professional networks of each team member formed over decades of experience working with nonprofit organizations in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Emily Anthony began her career recruiting, screening, and interviewing hundreds of volunteers for Big Sisters of King County, an experience that not only taught her useful search skills, but also how much she loved helping people find their “best fit” role. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for her entire career, originally as a caseworker with families and children, and later as a program coordinator, facilitator, and trainer. In addition, Emily has been an active volunteer and board member for many nonprofits that support educational equity and early learning, such as Rainier Scholars, Social Venture Partners, and Child Care Resources. For the past 10 years, Emily has brought these varied perspectives into her current work as a professional consultant to nonprofit organizations in executive search, strategic planning, and fund development.

Originally from Massachusetts, Emily graduated from Harvard College. She holds a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health, and a Certificate in Human Services Management, both from the University of Washington.

Through her work in nonprofit management, community development, fundraising, and education, Mary Ellen has developed a keen understanding of how teams work, what it entails to achieve truly mission-driven work, and the importance of partnership as the foundation for almost anything worth doing.

Over the past 20 years, Mary Ellen has worked with numerous nonprofits, both domestically and internationally, as a founder, executive director, program developer, board member, volunteer, donor and consultant. She has seen how nonprofits function, grow, stall, strategize, and achieve impact from a multitude of lenses, giving breadth and depth to her skills to support organizations to be strategic, inclusive, fueled by mission and highly effective.

Mary Ellen holds a Masters of Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a B.S. in Experiential Education from the University of New Hampshire.

Julie brings nearly 3 decades of experience to her executive search and transition work, beginning in the high-tech industry as a recruiter for Microsoft, as well as an eleven-year tenure as the Executive Director of Powerful Voices, a nonprofit she co-founded in 1995. Her experience in strategic planning, capacity building, board governance, and fundraising greatly informs her understanding of leadership and organizational change. She finds the process of executive search fun and rewarding and inspiring – and directly linked to the ability of nonprofits to deliver on the promise of their missions.

Julie has worked as a non-profit consultant since 2008. She is a graduate of Whitman College and holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Washington.

In her decade-long career in fundraising and development, Eva has worked in every aspect of non-profit operations. From her time in higher-education development, to running the fundraising arm of a small non-profit, Eva has seen what it takes for non-profits to succeed. As Administrative Manager at Clover Search Works, Eva will focus on providing administrative and operational support to help Clover meet the growing needs of its clients and community.

Eva hails from San Francisco and made her way to Seattle via Baltimore and Denver. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University.

Jill Sheldon brings 30 years of focused non-profit leadership experience to her work with Clover. For the past 15 years, Jill has served hundreds of non-profit leaders as a leadership and career coach, and as an organization development consultant and facilitator. For the first 15 years of her career, Jill was a development director and program manager for several Seattle-area organizations focused on services for the elderly and environmental justice. She has also taught leadership and strategy in the University of Washington’s Nonprofit Certificate for seven years. Jill knows first-hand the essential role strong leadership plays in a nonprofit’s ability to meet its mission, and is happy to help steward the essential connections that make this possible.

Jill is a graduate of Oberlin College and has a Master of Arts in Coaching and Consulting from the Leadership Institute of Seattle, Bastyr University.